The Pride of Joy Belmonte

Mayor Joy took her seat in 2019. Since then, she’s focused her legislative efforts on serving all sectors of society, especially those that have been left unheard. Such leadership is represented in the city’s slogan: “Kasama ka sa pagunlad.”

Integral to her leadership was listening to her constituents and forming policies that would benefit them. When it came to the concerns of LGBTQIA+ citizens, Mayor Joy was taken aback by how many of their basic needs aren’t met. “Napakadami nilang pinagdadaanan na walang national government protection or recognition. Wala silang kanlungan,” she states.

“Simple things like saan sila magsi-CR. That was something that really hit me,” Mayor illustrates. “They would go through the day na pinipigil nila yung natural urges nila as humans because society is not prepared to make space for them, and that really, for me, was such an injustice.”

Such scenarios prompted the public servant to make Quezon City a safe space for all individuals. With her council, she pioneered the Gender Fair Ordinance, which “assured equality in terms of the workplace, health services, accommodations, and education.” Through this measure, citizens are safeguarded against discrimination based on how they identify and express themselves. After passing such an ordinance, 25 other cities have replicated or produced their own versions of the framework.

Mayor Joy is also proud to have championed the Transgender Health Ordinance, which aims to provide transgender individuals with access to safe and informed gender-affirming healthcare. “I feel like they're so misunderstood and judged; there's so little services for them,” the mayor explains. “So in our ordinance, our health workers welcome the trans community. And while we cannot prescribe medication, we can give advice and refer them to the proper medical authorities to help them.”

To date, one of Mayor Joy’s landmark moves is the Right to Care card, which allows LGBTQIA+ couples to make medical decisions for one another through a binding Special Power of Attorney (SPA). Such an initiative was proposed by community groups seeking a local government unit to champion it.

“When we passed that, ang daming pumuri, ang daming natuwa, ang dami talagang sumuporta. The DOH supported it. DILG supported it. The DSWD supported it. So the national government agencies are ready,” Mayor Joy states, admitting that she was surprised by the positive reception. “It's just that the people who make the laws, it seems sila na lang ang hindi ready.

More than ready to make the city as inclusive as it should be, Mayor Joy sought to create the first—and so far, only—Pride Council in the country. “Nobody else has their own Pride Council. We make room for the community in our gender and development budget even if technically dapat hindi kasama,” she says. “Because that's what it entails kapag walang national law.”

The egregious lack of a national law remains one of the biggest hindrances to the queer movement locally. The SOGIE Equality Bill, which aims to protect and uphold the rights of all Filipinos, whether or not they identify with the community, has languished for decades now. For allies like Mayor Joy, who have taken it upon themselves to create safe spaces and policies, part of attaining equality is figuring out where the hesitation comes from.

From her perspective, much of the backlash is rooted in the country’s religious roots. “I think that there is a misinterpretation of the Bible, which was written many, many years ago within a certain sociocultural milieu,” she explains. “There are many things mentioned in the Bible that, I think, are no longer being practiced anyway.”

Given how much humanity has evolved, Mayor Joy supposes that Catholic beliefs must also apply to the present day. “And I believe that the Bible should not be interpreted literally but through its substance,” she says.

“And basically, the substance of the Bible is love. It's about how the love of God was so, so powerful that He gave His only begotten Son to save us. It's the greatest love story ever told. It's the greatest story of sacrifice ever told. And yet it's being weaponized against a certain community,” the mayor continues.

“I can't see that God's ultimate act or desire is for humans—who He created in His image and likeness—to not be treated equally, or to not receive the same rights. I don't think that is the message of Jesus.”

This misinterpretation is directed at Mayor Joy whenever she attends the annual Pride March. On the peripheries of the celebrations would be placards denouncing queerness and claiming it to be a form of evil. In fact, when she officiated Quezon City’s first commitment ceremony—a symbolic event where queer couples can declare their love for one another sans any legal licensing—she was barraged by texts of Bible verses chastising her. 

Such criticisms may never escape Mayor Joy, and she knows it. “It’s my job as a public servant to always listen to everybody's criticism. But there are certain types of criticism na kailangan mong tingnan yung batayan ng kanyang galit,” she says.

“And if they say, ‘Mayor Joy, mali yung ginagawa mo kasi sinabi ng Diyos na ang sektor na ito ay pupunta sa impyerno. Hindi sila minamahal ng Panginoon,’ tinatanong ko sa sarili ko, tama ba 'to?”

“Tama ba na may mga naiiwan sa lipunan? Na may mga constituents ako na hindi ko dapat paglingkuran at tratuhin bilang tao, tama ba 'yon? And in my heart, hindi eh, kasi I'm the mayor of everyone and I have to serve everyone equally.”

It’s in this regard that Mayor Joy has emboldened herself to take necessary risks, not just for the queer community, but for all of her constituents. “It is my duty as their leader to understand their lived experiences, no matter who they are. All of them should be treated equally.”

The backlash only boosts Mayor Joy’s morale. As an ally to the community, she understands that no amount of hate should derail them. The rest is noise. “Lalo akong lumalakas, lalo akong nagkaroon ng determination na ipagpatuloy 'tong laban. Even if madami pa silang sabihin, wala sa'kin 'yan kasi ito 'yung sinasabi ng puso kong tama at ipaglalaban ko 'yung tama.”

The Honorable Joy Belmonte, on occasion, is referred to as “mumshie” or “mother” by some of her constituents. Mayor Joy is widely regarded with fondness by community members, largely because of what she’s done on their behalf. In fact, last June 27, after a long day at the Love Laban Pride Festival in UP Diliman, she was at the popular queer nightclub O Bar to accept the “LGBT Icon of the Year” award, bestowed by the non-profit organization The Red Whistle.

These instances illustrate how Mayor Joy has molded herself into a genuine ally whose intentions are not only seen but felt by those she serves.

As a cisgender, heterosexual woman, she emphasizes that she doesn’t need to experience the same plight in order to help put an end to it. “I'm not necessarily a member of the community, but I believe so strongly that the community deserves so much more than what they're being given at present,” she expresses. 

Even in the supposedly “gay-friendly” Philippines, Mayora recognizes the urgent need for true acceptance, one that doesn’t stop at mere tolerance. “Dapat pare-parehas 'yung mga karapatan natin. Dapat may legal equality. Kung may karapatan ako sa batas bilang cisgender at heterosexual woman, dapat meron din ang community,” she articulates.

Mayor Joy cites data to demonstrate that genuine equality can lead to economic and social success. “When countries are LGBTQIA+-friendly, they do better in terms of tourism and business, di ba? We just have to harness that potential and help them,” she states. “In every sphere where there is equality, there is more success, and everybody enjoys that success.”

In this day and age, where queer identities continue to be questioned and put under scrutiny, the community needs its allies to stand their ground as firmly as they do. The rights at stake, after all, are simply human rights. 

For Mayor Joy, allyship is vital because it gives hope to those who are embattled. Seeing someone outside the community share in the fight validates their struggles. It’s a pat on the back that assures them they’re not alone in their fight. As Mayor Joy says, “the struggle of the LGBTQIA+ community is a struggle worth fighting against.”

“Importante na nararamdaman ng community na may kakampi sila, na kahit hindi katulad nila, ay naniniwala sa kanila.”

This idea, year in and year out, proves to be the driving ethos behind Pride and the reason it’s celebrated in the first place. As Pride is a protest that has yet to subside, the louder collective voices are, the more its message will be heard. “And that's why when we host Pride, we are not just calling for the community to step forward and fight. We're calling for the allies to fight with and for the community, too,” Mayor Joy states.

“That's why we fight for Pride, and we fight with Pride. That's what we say.”